Saturday, April 5, 2014

The day has finally come. Nathan Beaulieu has finally been
recalled by the Montreal Canadiens in light of Douglas Murray being handed a
three game suspension. In my opinion,
this is long overdue. Beaulieu is a dynamic defensive man who has done
everything in his power to improve his all around game in hopes of making the
club full time. At one point this season
he seemed like he was in Montreal to stay.
Leading up to the Olympic break Beaulieu was playing regular minutes,
and appeared as though he was a perfect fit. When he was sent down to Hamilton
for the break, everyone assumed he would be back up right after. I would have taken it as a slap in the face
to be passed over after having success and proving my worth. I can only assume that this is how Beaulieu
would feel. He deserves this chance, and will have to make the most of his
opportunity.

Beaulieu has played 16 games with the Canadiens thus far
this season. He has 2 assists, a +5 rating, 14 shots and only 8 penalty minutes in that time. Is
there room for improvement? Absolutely. But in order to improve, Beaulieu at
this point in his hockey career, he needs to advance to the next level of
competition. There are a couple of guys
battling for a spot on the Habs D core heading down the stretch, and I believe
Beaulieu should have an equal opportunity.

Lets look at some stats of guys who are battling for the
final spot (or two) (before Friday's game).

Francis Boullion

48 GP, one goal, four assists for a total of five points. He
has 31 shots despite being seen on the second PP unit relatively frequently for some
odd reason. Boullion sees time on a top pairing alongside offensive catalyst PK
Subban.

Douglas Murray

52 GP, no goal, 2 assists, and has only 25 shots on
net. Murray is a big man and is meant to
bring size and grit to an otherwise small line-up. He does that, but that is
about it. His skating is very sloppy, and he makes some terrible decisions
where he really shouldn't. Why he is
playing such big minutes is beyond me.

Jarred Tinordi

19 GP, no goal and no assist. He has nine shots on net, but
has not really been used as an offensive defenseman. Tinordi deserves a spot in this line-up just
the same as Beaulieu. He makes mistakes sometimes, but playing in the NHL will
help improve these small in-game errors.

In a perfect world, Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi would
both have permanent spots on this Canadiens team. Timordi is a big man, who is willing to play
physically, drop his gloves, be a shutdown player, and will go on rushes when
the time is right. He brings everything
Montreal needs in a defenceman and should have a permanent spot next season on
the Habs back end. Beaulieu has a great offensive upside, and is a smart
player. He is exactly what Montreal
needs on a second PP unit as he is able to put the puck in the net. Playing
with an excellent role model in PK Subban would help take Beaulieu's game to a
whole new level.

With Murray and Gorges both out, these two young studs
should get their opportunity to play with the club. There are spots available, and I hope
Therrien makes the right decision here.